On the Frontline
by Agility Style
Summary: Felicity was never meant to be a superhero, and she never expected to work with superheroes after Oliver's death. But after joining S.H.I.E.L.D, Felicity was going to learn what it means to be part of a team again. Especially when an old face reappears from the past with an army big enough to destroy everything in their path.
1. Remembering Oliver

**Disclaimer: I don't own DC or the Marvel universe. **

**Chapter 1 Remembering Oliver**

Felicity Smoak was never meant to be a superhero, just meant to be that tech girl for the big crime fighting superhero. That superhero who was handsome, attractive, muscular, and had a charming personality to top. The girl on the side that you can trust, that was always her. That's why when Oliver died, Felicity resolved to keep doing the one thing she always loved to do. Felicity Smoak took upon S.H.I.E.L.D.'s offer to work for them after quitting Queen's Consolidated and moving to New York. That way, she could be the tech girl again.

She and Diggs came to terms with Oliver's death with eventual ease, and promised to keep in contact with each other often. They worked together during the days after Oliver's death to fix loose ends, but both knew that they couldn't stay in Starling City. Diggs remarried and moved to Europe with his new wife, eager to start life anew. Felicity believed that Diggs was the happiest he had ever been since he received his closure.

Starling City wasn't crime-free, but the vigilante's job had made its impact and it no longer needed the Hood/Arrow long before Oliver even passed away. Felicity was glad that Oliver got to see it briefly. Oliver had passed away from a slow growing cancer that they didn't detect until about a year ago. Felicity suspected that it came from the island, but doctors disagreed and said it was more likely from the carcinogens in the Glades, since cancer rates had spiked in the past couple of years. It was shocking at first, but it gave Oliver enough time to finish what he needed to do and earn his peace and closure. His mother, sister, and Laurel never discovered his secret. Not yet, Felicity assumed anyways. Oliver told Felicity and Diggs that they were allowed to learn of his secret identity, but he did not specify when that time will be. "You'll know when the right time will be."

Putting it all aside, Felicity packed up her things, said good-bye to a few friends she had, and flew to New York. All Felicity Smoak knew about her own future was that she was going to be living in a paid-for apartment, this being part of her contract for her new job at the government facility. This was going to be in the middle of the city, close to where S.H.I.E.L.D's headquarters were located. One of the directors of S.H.I.E.L.D discovered Felicity after finally tracking down her hacks in the past two to three years. They saw her potential and immediately gave her the offer, much to Felicity's relief. She thought she was going to end up in federal prison. Thankfully, S.H.I.E.L.D never managed to discover why Felicity had hacked their database in the first place. But her boss' boss, Nick Fury, was very suspicious of her. In his presence, she felt two eyes on her despite his eyepatch and the assumed loss of function of that particular organ. Meanwhile, her current boss, Maria Hill, was less wary of Felicity. She deemed Felicity less of a physical threat and was friendly enough. If Felicity was up to no good, she figured that they could easily put a bullet in her, or wipe her memory or something like that. Felicity shivered when she thought of all the secret technology they had.

* * *

"Yes, I did hear about what happened in New York a few months ago. I was just, going through some personal things," Felicity stuttered while talking to a few co-workers. Some of them were amazed or outraged that she wasn't more clued in about the city's recent alien attack. They questioned her skills and social awareness. Truthfully, Felicity had been busy mourning Oliver's death and trying to run Queen's Consolidated all while trying to find a new CEO for the company. The alien war that had raged on had been the last thing on her mind. She often wondered if Oliver could have fought with the Avengers if he had lived long enough for the event.

"We're trying to rebuild the city," Maria Hill told her team of four an hour later (which included Felicity, the newest member of the four). They were situated in an underground facility a few blocks away from Felicity's new home. "And a lot of our Headquarters, machinery, and equipment. The city is in wreck because people find it easier to steal and do crime, even with non-local police forces. There are a couple of gang leaders we need to trace, some people we need to keep an eye out for, and locations of a few non-dangerous suspects."

Felicity grinned to herself and looked down at her hands. She'd be able to find them without much trouble, they would all be in some sort of database or spotted on a security camera somewhere in the city. As usual, she would pass the information along to someone else more physically capable, who would go out into the field and fix everything. Felicity was the brain, and was never going to be the brawn.

"Felicity, wow. You got us the names so quickly," Maria commented that evening. "I'm impressed."

"Thank you," she smiled lightly. Felicity pushed up her glasses and glanced back at her computer screen. "Background checks, recent police records, death tolls taken into account… Including security camera footage... The technology here is fascinating by the way."

"I know you'll probably never have to leave the office here, and we'd love to keep you here forever. However, Fury kind of made it a rule that every agent has some kind of physical training."

Felicity gaped at her supervisor. "I…I do have some background," she stammered, her face going pale. "Wait, I'm considered an Agent? That's pretty cool."

"Yes you are, Agent Smoak."

"I did not read this in the manual." Felicity's grin faded when she remembered Maria's earlier words. "Wait, no I don't do exercise. I have slight asthma and a bad knee and ankle."

"You're going to have to start. Tomorrow morning, 06:00, be at the north gym. I have a list of physical activities you must complete each week." Maria said it with a strict but not unfriendly tone. She gave her a sheet of paper and nodded curtly.

Felicity put her head to her desk. They were just like Oliver and Diggs. Of course, Oliver had eventually succumbed to simply teaching Felicity how to shoot an arrow, and Diggs taught her a few chokes. She wondered if that would be a good enough requirement for the team here too. Her team was a humourless bunch. Three other men, in their thirties and forties, were the people assigned to go out and did missions. Maria Hill led them out on the field and was the overall best agent. They weren't friends with her, much less with each other, and it seemed like a job to them. To Felicity, doing what she did was her passion, but she couldn't enjoy it completely with this team.

* * *

"The technology here is a lot better than I'm used to though. If I can meet who designed the equipment, we could exchange ideas," Felicity said out loud a couple weeks later. She was trying to look on the bright side of her joining S.H.I.E.L.D as she jogged around S.H.I.E.L.D's aboveground new office-tower. She had gone through a couple of cases without any problems, and was adjusting well to her new life in New York. It was rebuilding, yes, but it the city was flourishing too, and it was a lot different than Starling City in many ways.

"Tony Stark and his inventions… I wish I could do that too, if they let me." Felicity gasped for air and wiped off her sweat. "Man, it's a hot day out."

"Agent Smoak, you're needed in headquarter's main, downstairs." One of her teammates appeared out of thing air with a sharp look and a slight wrinkle of his nose. "I'd change quickly before I go, though."

Felicity rushed towards the enormous, polished room in headquarters that reminded her of a university classroom but filled with better technology and fancier equipment. She was surprised to see that Agent Maria Hill was talking to Nick Fury, the big man behind S.H.I.E.L.D. One other man sat a few chairs away with crossed arms and a grim appearance. She had seem him around HQ before, but he looked extra sulky that day.

"We figured you would be the best person for the job. There is a new threat, Felicity," Maria told her seriously. "This hooded archer is supposedly from your hometown, Starling City."

Felicity froze. The room had no screen, but a holographic projection of a familiar looking figure. There was the dark hood pulled up over a shadowed face. A quiver attached to his back, an arrow already in one hand, a bow in another. The figure was perched on top of a roof of a tower that Felicity recognized from downtown New York.

Nick Fury, whose expression seemed to be permanently fixed to one raised eyebrow, turned towards Felicity. "You were quite the hacker back in your hometown. Weren't you ever curious as to discover who the Hood is?" His stare was so intense, Felicity almost squeaked.

She forced herself to speak. "I was under the impression that the Hood worked for the law. How can they be the same person?" Especially since Oliver was dead, Felicity thought to herself. Of course, nobody knew that the vigilante always passed away. The disappearance of the Hood and Oliver's passing didn't happen at the same time.

"Did you, Agent Smoak, ever find out what the Hood's identity was?"

Felicity felt all three pairs of eyes pierce through her skull. "He contacted me on several occasions," she deterred from answering completely. "Often to help with police investigations, or a kidnapping, or something. He saved my life on many occasions. Whoever this guy is," she waved at the blue-ish hologram, "it can't be him. Give me some time, and I will dig up information and find out who he is." Felicity was surprised that she kept good control of her emotions.

Maria let out a sigh and handed her a few documents. "For this one case, you've been reassigned to work with someone else, more specific to this case." The tension eased up and Felicity let out a breath of relief. "Felicity, meet Clint Barton." The man in the corner stood up and gave Felicity a firm handshake.

"Why am I working with someone new? I mean, not to be rude or anything. I'm just curious."

"Barton is the best archer we have," Fury said with a look at the other man. "An archer knows the mind of another archer better than anyone else."

Felicity nodded, internally squeaking. She never thought she would work with arrows again.

"Wait, weren't you from the Avengers too?" Her admiration and eagerness for this mission was peaked.

"I see you've been doing your research," he gruffly said to her as he passed her out the door. "You should focus on answering questions, not asking them."

And there goes her admiration.


	2. Copycats

**Chapter 2 Copycats**

Unsurprisingly, Felicity had dealt with copycat vigilantes on many occasions before. She couldn't understand why she was struggling so badly to identity the man from Starling City, who was basically the bad guy version of her deceased best friend. It was frustrating. She had already spent quite a few days trying to dig up information to trace him. With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technology, it should have been easier than it actually was. Felicity needed to find this guy and settle with him.

"He wasn't from Starling City," she said out loud to herself while in thought.

"What?" Clint Barton looked up curiously from his bench-press workout. With a sudden realization that Felicity was at the gym, she snapped back to reality. She was supposed to spot him, but he could have done fine on his own.

"The copycat isn't from Starling City." Felicity pulled out her tablet and thought to herself curiously. "He knows the city too well. He jumps up the streets and buildings like he's lived his whole life. I still can't even find my way to the closest coffee shop by foot."

"So all you've discovered is that this archer lives in New York. We're no closer to finding him." Unamused, Clint returned to his work out.

Felicity growled. For the last few days, she was in a stump. She wanted to find out who the copycat was to clear Oliver's alias' name, and to be rid of Clint Barton for good. Her boring, uncaring teammates were better company than his criticism and snarky attitude. "You would like me a lot better if you weren't so distrusting," she muttered under her breath. "Or if you weren't born with grumpy syndrome."

"Tonight, we are heading up to our location up in Brooklyn. You will need to work on some kind of defense while we're at that facility," Clint told her, ignoring her comment. Sweating, he managed to set his weights down on his own. "You have a gun; carry it with you on all times. Tonight, carry a spare and a knife with you as well." The base where they were going to be that night was a little more high risk for exposure. Felicity was going to be working and monitoring Clint from a van in a warehouse. They had a plan etched up to monitor a couple of buildings in that area.

"The shooting range is full, I can't go practice," Felicity remarked, not fully looking Clint in the eye.

"You haven't met any of your physical quota." Clint was taking a look at her training log. "I don't want to carry deadweight back with me tonight."

A glare burned into the back of Clint's head. Nonchalantly, she got up onto her feet and walked over to the side of the gym. Raged from stress and frustration, Felicity decided to follow his advice.

"With other methods, I can still practice my aim. I am not completely useless."

There was a target set out with some bows and a few quivers. Felicity picked up a good bow with her left arm and stared at it.

"Why would anyone in New York use arrows for any purpose other than recreation?" Felicity took her time trying to get the aim perfect. "A gun is faster, easier to use, and would make them less traceable." She released her arrow, and it hit between the centre and the edge of the board. Felicity almost jumped with delight. Oliver would have been proud.

"You've done archery before?"

"Once or twice," Felicity replied, staring at her bow. Memories popped up vividly in her mind, and a mixture of emotions appeared on her face. "It was a big thing in our city. You can't avoid it if you live there."

"You know, I can tell when someone is hiding something. Your face gives it all away." Clint walked up to her and looked her straight in the eyes with an unwavering expression.

"Everyone has a story to tell," Felicity mumbled. "My back story led me here, yours did too." She shifted her feet uncomfortably.

"Those are whiplash scars." It was a statement, not a question. The man in his late thirties or early forties held up Felicity's arm. True enough, there were some scars that still remained from a few archery practices with Oliver and Diggle. "You also loaded the arrow correctly and fired with good posture. Perhaps the Hood from your city taught you a thing or two?"

"Perhaps, but I don't see why he would have wasted time with someone like me," Felicity grumbled to herself, pulling her arm away. He was suspicious of her. Everyone was. He didn't trust her, and none of her teammates seemed to trust her either. Felicity was used to everybody thinking she was innocent with nothing to hide. She could empathize with Oliver a lot more now. "But I would probably shoot myself by accident first before I manage to ever kill an opponent."

"Do you know what they say about you? You're a threat, a spy, or some kind of untrustworthy foe. People say Nick Fury only kept you here to keep a closer eye on you, to try to find your true motives." Clint was watching her every facial expression. If only Felicity noticed his foreshadow.

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." Felicity kept her cool and bit her lip. "I am not a threat," she said softly. "If only you all could see that."

* * *

"She hasn't made any contact with the archer during this entire case. I believe she is innocent."

"The real question is, has the archer made any attempt to contact Felicity?" Agent Natasha Romanoff crossed her arms. "Although she may not have plans with him, that doesn't mean she isn't connected to him."

"She's young though," Clint argued, throwing his hands on the table. "How can she make so many enemies or allies with dangerous men? We are wrong for putting her under so much scrutiny. Fury would not have accepted her into S.H.I.E.L.D if she posed a threat."

"Your mission is to find the archer," Natasha said to him calmly. "My mission is to find out what I can about Miss Smoak. These were orders from Fury himself. She may not be an immediate threat, certainly not physically, but she knows important information."

"Whoa whoa, wait a second here. Are you two working on the same mission?" Bruce Banner had burst into the room with a box filled with papers. "It's been a while since any of us had done that."

"More or less," Natasha replied grimly. "Heard of the archer?"

"The amateur archer, actually," Clint interrupted. "He's not that great."

"Sounds like a friendly fellow. Killed two people again a few days ago near my apartment. It almost brought the other guy out," Bruce commented nonchalantly. He was organizing through his papers with a small occasional whistle.

"What are you even doing here, Bruce?"

"The story that I am going with is apparently we need more help in the city."

"That's not new news."

"I suspect Fury is trying to bring us all together again. There's something bigger emerging in the midst of this chaos," Bruce replied, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

Clint zipped up his jacket and fixed his weapons. "How big would it have to be to call upon the Avengers again so soon? Fury is perfect at keeping secrets from us."

"Fury has too much in his corner. There's a new junior director that the big guys sent in. The name's Richard Graves. He's kind of an asshole," Natasha commented. "A dumb one. He sent two teams in to the harbour last week to stop a drug bust. An underestimation of how many people and guns nearly lost all of those men."

"He's not in charge of anyone in our area, so we're okay, I guess," Bruce said. "Well, I'll be spending the rest of the night getting settled in. I will see you two after your mission."

"Missions," Clint corrected, giving Natasha another look from the corner of his eye. Natasha was going to be at the Brooklyn base too, but she wouldn't be visible. He checked to make sure he had all his equipment, and then radioed the driver. Clint then went to retrieve Felicity for the departure.


End file.
